How do make apple pie?!
Answers: im having family over for dinner and i want to make a good apple pie
i reccemnd Granny Smith apples
PERFECT APPLE PIE
PASTRY:
3/4 cup cake flour
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
scant tsp salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon lard
4 Tablespoons Crisco shortening
large pinch Rumford Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon buttermilk powder OR:
1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar ADDED TO:
5-7 Tablespoons ice water
one stick plus 1/3 stick butter, frozen in advance
FILLING:
10 Apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
sprinkle of mace (optional)
sprinkle of vanilla
lemon juice
Flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot for thickening
Preheat oven to 400°F, then reduce to 375°F after pie is in the oven.
Combine dry ingredients. Mix together Crisco and lard in metal bowl. Sprinkle with flour mixture. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Remove butter from freezer and slice into 1/2 inch chunks. Add to bowl. Work butter and shortenings together into flour with fingers or a pastry blender, leaving large chunks, the size of walnuts. The purpose is to coat the butter particles with flour, but not to allow the butter or shortenings to melt. Do not overwork the mixture.
Add the lemon juice or vinegar to ice water and stir quickly into dry ingredients. Mix briefly, less than 45 seconds, leave large unincorporated pockets of butter and shortening. If mixture is beginning to melt, refrigerate briefly.
Gather mixture together into a flat disc, approximately 1 inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour or up to 2 days. Freeze if you want to reserve longer than 2 days. The half hour rest is necessary so that the dough will become easier to roll out. The buttermilk powder and/or lemon juice also helps relax the dough and prevent gluten, which can make for a tough crust.
NOTE: For a flakier pie crust, reserve 1/3 stick of butter and slice lengthwise, 1/8 inch thick. Place strips of butter onto dough and then fold into thirds before refrigerating for half hour resting period.
For the filling, use a combination of different types of apples. The best combination consists of mostly Granny Smith apples and a few Cortland types. The Granny Smith apples retain their shape when cooked and provide tartness and flavor. Meanwhile, the Cortland apples cook down into applesauce.
Mix the nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon with the sugar. Sprinkle the sugar with a few drops of pure vanilla extract. Work the butter and 2 Tablespoons flour or other thickener into the sugar. Slice the apples into thin wedges and place apples into pre-rolled out and fitted pie crust, packing apples in tightly, since they will cook down significantly. Mound apples higher in center. Sprinkle over the apples the juice of 1/2 lemon, then sprinkle the sugar-spice mixture over the apples evenly. Roll out and place top crust, fluting edges to seal tightly and creating several vent holes to allow steam to escape.
Brush top of crust with a mixture of one egg white and one tablespoon of water or with a little cream. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar.
Variation: One method of making a nice base for your apple pie is to peel a portion of the apples, placing the skins, cores, lemon peels, cinnamon sticks, and fresh grated ginger, into a saucepan with sugar and half cup of water or apple juice. Simmer over low heat for about an hour and strain, reserving the liquid. Thicken 1/2 cup of the strained liquid with 1-2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot and cool. Add 1/4 tsp vanilla, the sliced and peeled apples, and pour into the pie shell. This is a nice variation when you don't have cortland apples to mix in with the granny smiths because it keeps the pie from being too dry. The liquid is enough for one 10-inch pie about 4 inches tall at center. Adjust according to your pie size.
Bake about 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
I've found that freshly grated ginger much improves the flavor over the ground type in this recipe
Dutch Apple Pie with Oatmeal Streusel
INGREDIENTS
* 1 (9 inch) pie shell
* 5 cups apples - peeled, cored and sliced
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 3/4 cup rolled oats
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest
* 1/2 cup butter
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Fit pastry shell into pie pan and place in freezer.
2. To Make Apple Filling: Place apples in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine 2 tablespoons flour, white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Mix well, then add to apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated.
3. Remove pie shell from freezer. Place apple mixture in pie shell and dot with 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil lightly on top of filling, but do not seal.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
5. While filling is baking, make Streusel Topping: In a medium bowl combine 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, brown sugar, oats, and lemon peel. Mix thoroughly, then cut in 1/2 cup butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Remove filling from oven and sprinkle streusel on top.
6. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until streusel is browned and apples are tender. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dutch-Apple...
including a pic
If you want to jazz it up a bit here is a good Caramel Apple Pecan Pie that is easy and quite good.
CARAMEL PECAN APPLE PIE
15 oz. pkg. Pillsbury All Ready Pie crust
1 tsp. flour
FILLING:
6 c. thinly sliced, peeled apples
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
GLAZE:
1/3 c. Kraft Caramel Topping
2 to 4 tbsp. chopped pecans
Prepare pie crust according to package directions for two crust pie. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
In large bowl, combine apples, sugar, flour and salt; toss lightly. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust lined pan. Dot with butter. Top with second crust and flute; cut slits in several places.
Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove pie from oven; immediately drizzle with caramel topping. Sprinkle with nuts.
I make a standard Crisco double crust (using the maximum water that the Crisco folks suggest - the crust is easier to roll than if drier, and plenty flaky): http://www.crisco.com/Recipes/Details.as...
When I put that in the refrigerator, to rest for 1/2 hour, I core, peel and cut up 6 medium Gaia, Rome, or Granny Smith apples (or a couple of each), into a large bowl. I add 2 tblsp. flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tblsp cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup of sweet vermouth, or better yet, if I have it, calvados. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvados_(s... I toss everything with a fork until the apples are well coated. I have a stick of butter at the ready.
Then, I'm ready to assemble the pie.
I pre-heat my oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
I roll the bottom pie crust out, on wax paper, using a little flour. I make the bottom crust a bit bigger and a little thicker than the top one will be, for easier fluting. The wax paper makes it easy to handle and transfer the crusts to the pie pan. As soon as the first one is rolled, I put it in a 9 inch pie pan. leaving the crust edges draped over the edge.
I toss the apple mixture a bit, again, and spoon it into the pie crust. I put 8 pats of butter around the pie, on top of the apple mixture.
I then roll out the top crust, again on wax paper, with a little flour. I transfer it to the top of the pie, and then trim, fold and flute the crust edges by hand. I make a few slits in the top, to let steam out.
I bake the pie for 15 -20 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake an additonal 30 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is "just right" brown. The pie will still cook for 10 minutes after it is removed from the oven, and should sit for at least an hour, before you cut it.
I'd say it should cool to room temperature, but mine never last that long :-)
Make 8 good pieces.